


Hilltop

by posabule



Series: Panlie Week 2019 [1]
Category: We Bare Bears (TV)
Genre: First Kiss, Fluff, Love Confessions, M/M, panlieweek2k19
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-10
Updated: 2019-06-10
Packaged: 2020-04-12 11:41:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,211
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19131310
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/posabule/pseuds/posabule
Summary: Panda can’t hold his feelings in any longer and thinks the middle of the night is the best time to confess his love to Charlie.





	Hilltop

Panda needs to get out. He feels like he is going to explode.

He can usually, for the most part, keep his negative emotions and thoughts at bay. Nights like these are rare. But it has all come to a breaking point. The weight of his longing is too much. He needs an outlet. He needs answers, even. Maybe. Maybe tonight he’ll spill his guts. Probably not.

So he finds himself quietly slipping out of the cave and quickly stumbling towards the only source of comfort he knows. Of course, his brothers are comforting, but not in the same way. They can’t soothe what is tearing into his mind right now. And of course, the only one who can soothe him is also the thing making him lose his mind.

His fur is tousled and dirty when he makes it to Charlie’s home.

The bigfoot is peacefully asleep in his car, curled up so he can just barely fit into the backseat. It looks uncomfortable, and Panda feels a pang of guilt seeing him like this. Not that it’s his fault the man has such tragic sleeping arrangements, but realistically the bears _could_ provide him with somewhere better to sleep. They could get Tabes to use a species protection angle to get funds to build him a home, or even take him into their own. Maybe he should talk to his brothers about it.

Charlie, despite his awkward position, looks so serene in his sleep. It is a sight that makes Panda’s heart go soft. He contemplates if he should wake him up for his own selfish purposes. He feels like he’s always being selfish around Charlie. _Not a good look, Panda,_ he thinks to himself.

He shakes his head and tries to will away the doubt and negative thoughts. No, he wants to do this now, he needs to do it now. He needs something to happen, something to change. So, he gives a subdued knock to the car’s window.

Charlie doesn’t stir. He tries again, this time a little harder. Nothing. Soon enough he’s practically banging on the door. After it becomes clear he is going to receive no results like this, he sighs and opens the door up, accepting that he’ll have to awkwardly wake him by shaking him.

It does the trick, and Charlie wakes with a start. He jumps up into a defensive position until he realizes who is in front of him.

“Pan Pan?” Charlie rubs his eyes. “What time is it? Is everything alright?” He places a concerned hand on Panda’s shoulder.

 “Take me somewhere mystical, Charlie,” Panda demands.

He doesn’t have a particular place in mind, but he figures the bigfoot knows this forest inside and out. He doesn’t know why, but he needs to be taken somewhere new right now. Somewhere magical. Somewhere where he can pretend he isn’t on this plane of existence. If anyone knows a place like that, it would be Charlie.

Maybe, hopefully the magic of the place will let Panda confess his feelings.

Charlie looks at Panda with a slightly confused, slightly concerned face, but he seems to be genuinely pondering the request. He nods his head and steps out of the car. Panda follows.

Charlie tenderly grabs Panda’s paw and silently begins to lead him through the forest.

The moon is large, bright, and high in the night sky. It gives them just enough light to see where they’re going.

They don’t speak the entire time they spend walking. It’s a good fifteen, twenty minutes. Finally, they come upon a clearing. Charlie tells Panda to close his eyes and he obliges. He lets the man blindly lead him seemingly uphill through cool, dewy grass. All Panda can hear are the sound of crickets, frogs, and their soft footsteps. After a few moments of walking, Charlie tells him to stop and open his eyes.

He opens his eyes to a breathtaking scene.

They’re at the top of a hill, a light breeze rustling their fur. While there is dense forest behind them, laid out in front is a vast expanse of water, the sparkling Golden Gate Bridge reaching overtop it. The bright lights of the city dot the land to the right of the ocean. This is exactly the sort of place Panda wanted to be taken to. He takes a deep breath to fully take in the sweet night air.

“Charlie,” he speaks, just barely audible. “This is amazing.”

Charlie puts an arm around the bear and pulls him in close. Panda is stuck between stressing out about this action and enjoying being held by this cozy man. Despite his internal struggle, he can’t help but melt into Charlie’s side.

“It is a beauty, isn’t it?” Charlie warmly replies, but his voice is tinged with concern.

Oh, yeah, he’ll need to explain why he woke Charlie up in the middle of the night, asking to be taken away. He sighs. He wants to just enjoy the moment, enjoy some peace and quiet with the man for a while before he potentially causes his life to blow up in his face.

Surely confessing his love for the man can’t be that bad. But his brain has created a multitude of different scenarios in his head, and no matter how nice and understanding he reminds himself Charlie is, he can’t help but worry about being met with a disgusted reaction. Charlie can sometimes lack tact. Even if Charlie does react well, though, rejection will hurt. He’ll end up heartbroken no matter how nicely it’s broken to him that he doesn’t feel the same. _God_. He does not handle rejection well. No amount of ice cream or boba will fix that.

“Why don’t we settle down in the grass?” Charlie asks after they spend a few more moments in silence and it becomes evident Panda isn’t going to speak yet.

Panda nods his head which Charlie gives a quick, tender kiss before they move to sit down. Panda’s stomach flips.

On the ground, Panda once again settles against Charlie, his head resting against the right side of the man’s chest. Charlie’s arm is wrapped around the bear, holding him comfortably in place.

He is mesmerized by the headlights of the cars crossing the distant bridge. The lights of the city can often be a nuisance, but from this far, they are dazzling. They are far enough that they can’t hear any of the noise from the city, too.

Panda is starting to calm down, but he is also painfully aware of the fuzzy chest he is resting against and the arm wrapped around him. His head still burns with the kiss placed against it minutes earlier.

 _It is just typical, friendly Charlie,_ he reminds himself _. This is just how Charlie acts with people_.

“I usually climb up a tree for an even better view of this, but I figured that wouldn’t much be your thing,” Charlie says with a chuckle. Panda can feel the bigfoot looking down at him, but he does not want to look up for fear that being met with the warmth in Charlie’s glimmering eyes will annihilate him.

“I can’t believe I didn’t know such a view was so close to home,” Panda replies. His eyes are now fixated on the way the full moon is reflected in the water. The ripples in the ocean warp its image.

Charlie’s arm around Panda begins to shuffle, and he places his hand on top of Panda’s right paw he has resting on the ground. He gently strokes the bear’s thumb with his own. Panda is simultaneously flooded with feelings of sickness and elation.

Charlie giggles. “Aww, but haven’t you ever looked in a mirror? I’d say you’re an even better view than this!”

_What? What does he even mean by that? Why would Charlie say that? Charlie is usually that sweet and corny, but that-_

He can’t take it anymore. Panda jumps up, away from Charlie, paws pulling at the fur on his head. He hyperventilates and makes gross noises as he tries to catch his breath. _Exactly what I need to gain his affection!_ He sarcastically remarks in his head.

“Panda, Panda!” Charlie has jumped up and is crowding the bear. It is not helping. “Pumpkin, what’s going on? Do I need to get your inhaler?” Charlie might be panicking harder than Panda is. His hands are on Panda’s shoulders and he is trying to get him to meet his eyes.

Panda’s face burns. He knows he looks like a flailing idiot. At this point he is so embarrassed; he figures he might as well load it all on.

“CHARLIE, I’M IN LOVE WITH YOU!” Panda screams into Charlie’s face. Charlie reflexively jumps back and spends a few moments staring at him with wide eyes, hands loosely hung together in front of him. He is seemingly taking an eternity to process what Panda just said. There is a cool breeze ruffling their fur. It sends chills down Panda’s spine.

Panda falters at Charlie’s wide-eyed reaction. “I-I just needed to tell you. We don’t have to talk about it anymore or whatever. It’s just been driving me nuts being around you and not being able to say it,” h e begins to nervously ramble. “I’ll leave you alone. I’m sorry.”

Charlie brings his hands up to his mouth and his pupils slowly widen. “Panda, HOLY MOLY!” He shouts and flails his arms out. “Whaddya mean, THIS IS THE BEST NIGHT OF MY LIFE!” He swallows the bear in a hug.

They stand in silence for a few moments in a tight embrace. Panda lets himself really enjoy this hug, really take in all of the senses. He revels in Charlie’s earthy, pine scent; his soft, slightly tangled fur; the way his long fingers lightly squeeze his body.

“I love you too, pumpkin,” Charlie softly says into Panda’s ear as they hug.

Panda feels like he could cry. “Really?”

“Pan Pan, I’ve been making moves on you for months now. Feel like I’ve been real obvious. I haven’t exactly been trying to hide it,” Charlie says with a lopsided smile.

Panda can only offer Charlie a blank stare in response.

“What, you think I’m just out here platonically calling only you ‘sweetie’?” Charlie asks. “You became so receptive to all my affection, I figured ya caught on.”

Panda feels like an idiot. But he’s the happiest idiot in the world.

He tries to defend himself, but the words catch in his throat when Charlie tilts his head and the moon illuminates him in the most angelic glow. The way his eyes suddenly twinkle and the soft way the light frames his face…

Panda springs onto the man and their lips crash together. It is awkward and messy as Charlie scrambles to hold Panda up to him in a comfortable position. It takes them a few seconds of fumbling until they get their lips to move together smoothly. The smoothness is fleeting as Panda wants more and tries to deepen the kiss. He sticks his tongue into Charlie’s mouth a few times, but he’s not really sure what he’s doing. In his fumbling, he gives a lick to Charlie’s lips, and another- oh no. This lick catches on Charlie’s mustache. He panics and abruptly pulls his face away.

“UH-“ Panda sputters. “I-I don’t. I’m so sorry!” he braces himself for the inevitable uncomfortable moments to come.

To his shock and relief, Charlie cracks the goofiest smile and begins to warmly laugh. Panda would worry he’s being made fun of if the man didn’t have the most loving expression on his face. He can’t help but start to laugh with him. They tumble onto the ground in a fit of giggles.

Once they settle down, Panda crawls close to Charlie and tentatively places a few pecks on his lips.

“There. Redemption kiss,” he attempts to make light of his embarrassing first try. Charlie responds with a deep belly laugh.

“Not to bring the mood down or anything, but what was bothering you earlier?” Charlie asks.

Panda supposes there’s no way he can embarrass himself any further, and there’s no harm in sharing his pain now that it’s resolved. “Oh, I was kind of letting all of your previous flirting really get to my head,” Panda says. “I just. No one’s really liked me before, I don’t know! I didn’t know what was happening and couldn’t let myself believe you were making moves.”

“Aw, Pumpkin!” Charlie’s giving him an almost sad smile. “It was confusing you that much? I woulda gone ahead and serenaded you with a love song and full band if I knew it would take that much to give you a hint.”

“Look, you tend to be exceedingly nice and touchy with everyone!” Panda says.

“Well I’m glad I can relentlessly be all over you now,” Charlie says as he tackles Panda with a hug and plants his face with kisses.

“CHARLIE!” Panda giggles out. He feels relief like he never has before. It truly does feel magical up here. He feels like they are going to ascend up into the stars at any moment. They spend until sunrise enjoying one another’s company, making up for lost time.


End file.
